School 2013 was such a heartfelt drama. It was really moving and touched the deepest corners of my heart. The drama was full of new talent and went on to become springboard for budding talents like Lee Jong Suk and Kim Woo Bin. The show marked the revival of old School franchise of late 90s and early 2000s which itself formed the first step to success for many stars like Jang Hyuk, Bae Doo Na, Choi Kang Hee, Ha Ji Won, Jo In Sung, Lee Dong Wook, Im Soo Jung, etc. The last instalment was Who Are You – 2015, and now the series is back with its latest offering in the form of School 2017.

The long running KBS series deals with a range of issues related to students — competition with pressure, insouciance of school staff as well as certain parents towards a student’s mental state in this extreme competitive environment, bullying, corrupt and partial education system, etc. It showcases these social topics with coming-of-age plot and delicate touch. The newest School 2017 has expectedly added many new faces in its cast, and I’m sure we are going to end up loving most of them.

It’s a long list but here we go! Kpop idol group Gugudan‘s Kim Se Jung is in the main lead role. This is her debut in acting world and she will play a cheerful girl who dreams of becoming a web comic creator. But her life becomes full of struggle when she is unfortunately caught in a wrong situation and marked as a disobedient student. Kim Jung Hyun, who was seen in supporting roles in Jealousy Incarnate and Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People, will play the quintessential rebel, a boy transferred from the US and from a wealthy home. Then there is Jang Dong Yoon of Solomon’s Perjury fame, who will play the good boy, the president who sounds too perfect to be real: good looks, awesome grades, righteous, a leader. Next is Seol In Ah (Strong Woman Do Bong Soon) playing a girl who gives too much importance to looks. Han Joo Wan (Blow Breeze)will play a teacher while Han Sun Hwa (of idol group Secret, I have seen her in shows like God’s Gift – 14 Days and Marriage Not Dating) will play a police detective who gets demoted due to some reason and she is assigned as the police officer for this school. Students also include Ha Seung Ri and Kim Hee Chan, who both played teenage counterparts to Choi Ji Woo and Lee Sang Yoon in Twenty Again. She is playing a troublemaker and bully while he is playing a studious student who is very sincere in his studies. One more new face from Solomon’s Perjury, Seo Ji Hoon (who started his acting career with Signal), is joining the cast as another stereotypical character, the reclusive guy. He loves music and is least interested in studies or his classmates. Radiant Office’s Park Se Wan plays our heroine’s best friend. I’m sure there will be a lot more names added to this list when we finally see the drama. Phew.

Well, School 2017 sounds nothing new and the characters are mostly typical ones. But definitely diverse and if this drama is handled with similar care, poignancy and heart as School 2013, it will not take time for it to become my favourite. The drama is helmed by the PD of Naked Fireman, Sword And Petal, Jeon Woo Chi and the writer of Let’s Eat franchise and Rude Miss Young Ae series.

School 2017 will begin after Fight My Way ends its run in July as the next Monday-Tuesday drama on KBS.